How are innovation districts like Aggie Square responding to our turbulent present moment and what are they contributing to the future of the cities where they are built? Those questions drove discussion at this October’s Association of University Research Parks (AURP) conference, which I attended in Salt Lake City.
Picture this: You enter Aggie Square’s Community Engagement Hub on the first floor of the tallest building of the project, the front door opening onto a gallery with a long table and walls filled with art from a Quarter at Aggie Square experience. Or maybe the gallery is showing off a citizen science experiment run with a local school; or images taken by a neighborhood photographer who worked with a university collaborator; or possibly paintings by a local artist who is working with a member of our faculty.
Although there are lots of ways that UC Davis makes a difference in the greater Sacramento region, probably our biggest impact derives from the talented graduates educated in our academic programs.
